Report: Frank Mir Scratched from April Event Because of Shoulder Injury

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (9-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who was dropped from the UFC Fight Night 9 fight card earlier this week, is suffering from an apparent shoulder injury, according to MMAWeekly.com.

Earlier this week, I cited a Sherdog.com report that stated Mir, who was supposed to face Antoni Hardonk (5-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) in the televised portion of the event, will be replaced by UFC newcomer Justin McCully (7-3-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC).

Dean Albrecht, Mir’s business manager, said:

“We’re not sure if it’s the rotator cuff or a labrum injury.” It’s not even readily apparent when he suffered the injury. “He is not sure if it was from falling on the outstretched limb or just constant strain.”

Albrecht said that they “should be receiving the results of an MRI and other related tests any day,” but that the shoulder just wasn’t strong enough for Mir to go into this fight.

It’s been a rough road to recovery for the UFC’s one-time young superstar.

Mir was seriously injured in a devastating motorcycle accident three months after winning the UFC’s heavyweight belt in 2004. He broke his femur bone in two places and tore numerous tendons in and around knee when a car T-boned him.

At 22, Mir made his MMA debut at a July 2001 HOOKnSHOOT event under the watchful eye of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva. Mir made his UFC debut four months later and has fought exclusively with the UFC since then. He beat Tim Sylvia at UFC 48 for the vacant heavyweight title (breaking Sylvia’s arm) but suffered the motorcycle accident three months later. He never had a chance to defend his title.

Mir returned to action in February 2006 and suffered a TKO loss to Marcio Cruz in what many considered a major upset. In his next bout, he had gained considerable weight and won a sluggish and lackluster unanimous decision over Dan Christison at UFC 61. Four months after that, he suffered a quick first-round TKO loss to Brandon Vera at UFC 65.

Many UFC fans, myself included, figured Mir’s time in the UFC was over at that point.

However, because UFC management was willing to put Mir on the UFC Fight Night 9 card (and even promote his identity on the event’s early promotional materials), I think it’s safe to assume the Las Vegas native will get another chance in the organization once he’s healed.